Martijn Rozemuller is CEO at VanEck and has extensive experience in the world of investing. Many people have an image in their minds of the prototype investor: shady, slick and rather untrustworthy types. But is this picture actually accurate? According to Martijn, there is certainly a grain of truth in this, although it has certainly changed over time. Whereas in the past (1990s) a neat suit, a tie and black shoes were really mandatory at the fair, this is now long gone.
Women traders in the stock market
And what about the number of women traders in the stock market? According to Martijn, these really used to be counted on one hand and it really was a man’s world, also in terms of the way things were done. Martijn points out that he was a fairly atypical stock market trader in that regard during that period, and this did help him keep both feet on the ground.
Investment advice from Martijn
Martijn has seven children of his own and is heavily involved in the investment world. So what exactly does he advise his own children to do? There are a few pieces of advice he actually always gives:
- Spread your investments to reduce risk.
- Be sure not to invest with money you need quickly (within 10 years), maintain a long-term horizon. Reweighting is possible in its time, of course, but this is different from timing.
- Do not watch your investments too much, this prevents temptation to trade and nerves when the stock market moves.
These days the advice regarding investing, for example from finfluencers, flies around your ears on all sides. This brings an awful lot of temptation. There are also investors who have short-term success with risky products, such as crypto. Martijn indicates that this is certainly possible, but recommends always starting with a small amount. In addition to this, the tension involved is also worth something to many people, and this is very human. It is important to realize, however, that in the stock market you can never get rich very quickly, but you can get poor very quickly.
Is investing even a wise choice?
A reaction of many people when you start investing is ‘would you do that, soon you will lose a lot of money. It’s safer to just leave your money in your savings account’. Martijn points out that from a historical perspective, where sometimes investments were made with borrowed money at the time, this is a logical reaction. However, this reaction is far from appropriate. Do not invest with borrowed money and follow the advice above. Be aware of the risks keep these risks small.
Balance in portfolio
Just what is a good balance in a portfolio? This, according to Martijn, is a question that has no single answer. This depends on how much risk you want to take and when you think you will need the invested money again. There is absolutely no golden rule in this.
Martijn’s investments
Martijn’s listed investments are all VanEck ETFs. He is, of course, an entrepreneur and has a piece in his own business as a result. He also has a piece in Optiver, where he used to work. In addition, Martijn has some investment properties.
Difference between value stocks and growth shares
A value share is a company that is already mature and stable, here you usually get a little more dividend. A growth stock is a company that is still relatively young and still growing and here you get no or little dividend, because you have to depend on growth. It is best to combine growth and value stocks.
Starting to invest at an older age
Martijn certainly thinks it makes sense to start investing even at an older age. For example, if you are 50 years old, you probably have a horizon of at least about 20 years ahead of you. With such a horizon, you can certainly still start investing. It is wise, however, to start carefully and in stages, i.e. not putting all your savings in right away.
